Music

In the early eighties, Ricky Skaggs topped the chart with “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown.” Now, another Kentucky native’s changed that to “don’t steal from my hometown.”

You see, on September 2, Carly Pearce traveled home to be honored with a sign that read “Welcome to Taylor Mill: Hometown of Country Music Star Carly Pearce.” Within the next week, however, it disappeared. 

And obviously, the “I Hope You’re Happy Now” hitmaker — is decidedly NOT. 

“You know, it honestly pisses me off if I’m completely honest with everyone,” Carly asserts. “If this is a super fan — and I hope that they hear this — but if this is a super fan, just [direct message] me that you want freakin’ tickets to a show.”

“My town spent so much time and money to honor me in this way,” she goes on. “And people are now not really affecting me. They’re affecting my town and I’m pissed.”

“And if I ever figure out who did this, I will put them on blast because it is wrong,” she adds.

While Carly is clearly angry, she seems willing to negotiate some sort of peace with the culprit.

“I will give you tickets,” she offers. “I will give you a large photo of me for your bedroom, if that’s what you need. But don’t steal from my damn hometown.”

“I’m getting mad,” Carly laughs, realizing how outspoken she’s been. 

On Friday, the expanded version of Carly’s CMA-nominated 29 arrives, adding the secondary title Written in Stone. It features her new duet with Ashley McBryde, “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.”

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Kyle Harvey, better known as Kyle, agrees that it’s never a bad time to learn about our rights as American citizens, regardless of our age. That’s why the “iSpy” singer still refers to his We the People song “Federal vs State,” which teaches about the differences in federal and state power, as his most impactful song to date.

“Attaching myself to [We the People] was a no-brainer for me,” Kyle tells ABC Audio of the Netflix series. “Because it was like, one, I get to be a part of something that the Obamas [who are the show’s executive-producers] are part of. Two, I get to actually help young people understand how our government works, which for me was…really awesome.”

Kyle explains that his participation in the 10-episode animated music series, which has been compared to Schoolhouse Rock!, wasn’t just an opportunity to “give back,” but “an opportunity to actually do something… really good.”

“For me like this is like the most important song I’ve ever made,” he shares. “Because I know that it will help kids out there learn.”

We the People, which also includes episodes featuring H.E.R., Cordae and Janelle Monáe, is available to stream on Netflix.

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Many, many artists have covered David Bowie‘s “Heroes.” Dead Sara‘s “Heroes,” however, is very much not David Bowie’s “Heroes.”

On the track, which is the current single off the “Weatherman” rockers’ upcoming album, Ain’t It Tragic, lead vocalist Emily Armstrong sings, “All my heroes are dead.” As Armstrong tells ABC Audio, it was that lyric that really brought the song together.

“I just happened to read [that line] down on my list of lyrics that I have,” Armstrong recalls. “I just started singing that, and I was, like, ‘Oh, that’s the song.’ We had a shell of a song, but then it really made sense when we started actually honing in on what the album was gonna be.”

“From there, everything else just kind of rolled out,” she notes, adding that the sentiment “just made so much sense” to her.

“As a kid, all the stuff you’re gonna fight for and fight just in life, and nobody’s really gonna be there,” Armstrong explains. “When you’re an adult, you just go, ‘Oh, f***, I’m here. It’s just me.'”

And if it isn’t clear by the song, Armstrong definitely believes in the “You should never meet your heroes” adage.

“Yes, 100 percent,” she laughs. “And that’s all I’ll say about that.”

Ain’t It Tragic arrives this Friday, September 17.

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While Shawn Mendes’ past week has been filled with glamorous celebrity events like the MTV VMAs and the Met Gala, he can still appreciate the simpler times that the pandemic afforded him.

Appearing on the Spout podcast, the singer reminisces about being in lockdown with Camila Cabello and how everyday tasks took on new, special meanings.

“I was getting really into the coffee mug,” he says. “I was, like, waking up in the morning and I was like, ‘Which coffee mug am I today?’…I was getting really technical about it and it was just like everything to me. You know, it was my home. I would go to bed super excited for that moment.”

The time off also forced him to reflect on what he enjoys doing outside of music and to explore different hobbies, like archery, which he says was inspired by one of his favorite shows, Game of Thrones. But so far, nothing has really stuck.

“I think the real reality is that I struggle to put down the guitar and figure out what to do besides my job and besides music…,” he says. “So for better or for worse, I am searching for a hobby at the moment, but like, I think that all those things are just exploring for me. I think that something’s going to click sooner or later, but until then, I’m going to stick to coffee and working out.”

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Idris Elba may not be a fan of 40-degree days, but, apparently, he doesn’t mind the rain sometimes.

The English actor, who’s also a musician and DJ, has released a remix of grandson‘s single “Rain” with Jessie Reyez, which was recorded for the new movie The Suicide Squad. Elba, of course, stars in the DC Comics film as Bloodsport.

“We shot a sequence in the rain and I remember it feeling like a music video at the time,” Elba recalls. “In my head, I thought how sick it would be to write a song about the rain sequence. When I heard grandson and Jessie’s song I was so happy to get a chance to remix it and contribute it to the universe.”

Adds grandson, “What can you say when a legend agrees to work with you? It was a natural opportunity that came up through The Suicide Squad soundtrack, and I’m beyond grateful Idris, a multifaceted artist I’ve been a fan of since I was a kid, agreed to add his touch of London house music to our song ‘Rain.'”

You can listen to the remix now via digital outlets.

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October is going to be a great month for Queen Naija and Meek Mill fans.

First up, Meek Mill has set a Friday, October 1, release date for his long-awaited, fifth studio album, Expensive Pain. As part of the announcement, the Philly rapper unveiled the album artwork, which was created from an original painting by renowned artist Nina Chanel Abney. The album will include Mill’s newly released songs, including “Sharing Locations,” featuring Lil Durk and Lil Baby, and “Blue Notes 2,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert. Expensive Pain serves as Meek’s first full-length album since 2018’s Championships, which included collaborations with Jay-Z, Drake, Cardi B, Future, Ella Mai and many others.

Expensive Pain is available for pre-order now.

Also scheduled for October, Queen Naija is taking her music on the road. In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the singer announced The Butterfly Tour, which officially launches in Atlanta on October 17.

The tour — which comes after Naija took the number-one spot on Billboard‘s Top R&B Albums chart with her debut album, missunderstood — will include shows at Brooklyn Steel in New York City and St. Andrews Hall in Queen’s hometown of Detroit. Chicago-based R&B singer-songwriter TINK has also been confirmed as a special guest on most of the tour’s scheduled dates.

Tickets for The Butterfly Tour go on sale this Friday, September 17, at 10 a.m. local time at IAmQueenNaija.com.

 

 

 

 

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The Wendy Williams Show‘s season 13 premiere date of September 20 has been delayed following the show’s announcement that host Wendy Williams has “tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19.”

Williams’ diagnosis was shared on Wednesday via her official Instagram account, which noted a new season 13 premiere date of Monday, October 4. “In the meantime, repeats will be scheduled,” the message read in part. The show’s rescheduled date comes less than a week after it was announced Williams would be stepping back from “promotional activities” due to “ongoing health issues.”

In other news, The Lion King returned to Broadway on Tuesday night, following the 18-month shutdown of the theater industry due to COVID-19. The star-studded event was attended by Carson Daly, Gloria Steinem Kristin Chenoweth and John Riddle, among others. Also, in a Broadway first, Tuesday night’s performance of “Circle of Life” was livestreamed on TikTok, giving fans from all over the world a rare opportunity to see the production’s opening number.

Meanwhile, Disney is also bringing out the stars for their The Proud Family revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In honor of The Proud Family‘s 20th anniversary Wednesday, Disney announced they have added some of music and entertainment’s biggest names, including Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Chance the Rapper, Normani, Leslie Odom Jr., Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, Debbie Allen, Courtney B. Vance, Marsai Martin and Jaden Smith, among others. As previously reported, original stars Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, Paula Jai Parker and JoMarie Payton are all expected to return. The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder launches in 2022 on Disney+.  Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

 

 

 

 

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